Staying
by AMAPADME
Summary: Danny thoughts as Steve is being taken away. Episode tag to 1x24


AN: my first Hawaii 5-0 story. hope it works for others like it did for me. It has been a long time since I wrote anything so please be kind. you can tell me good/ bad thoughts just do it nicely.

This is how I make Danny see that he does not belong with Rachel. Also how he realizes he loves Steve.

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><p>"Hey, hey you listen to me. I will get you out of this thing. Don't worry. Just hang in there. Alright ? Okay?"<p>

Danny said this to Steve because he knew he would move heaven and earth to make that happen.

Right now though he could not think about how to make that happen. Right now he was angry. Angry at Steve for being so stupid as to go and confront the governor on his own. Angry that he went all Super Seal Ninja just to get into the mansion. Danny was Angry at Chin for going back HPD. How could he betray Steve like that when Steve was the only one who believed in him? Truth be Told Danny was even angry at himself for not following after Steve once he ran from HQ. Danny knew Steve didn't always think rationally when it came to his parents case. He knew how Wo Fat made Steve crazy. He knew how on edge Steve was all day. He should have been with him to either calm him down or to have his back. Instead he was so preoccupied with Rachel that he failed Steve. Now Steve was going to prison for his failure.

Overwhelming all this though was his anger at Wo Fat. He was framing Steve and so far he was getting away with it. Wo Fat is a slippery bastard but Danny had to find a way to slip under that grease. When he did he was going to hang on until that bastard is dead. Danny wanted Wo Fat dead. He did not want a trail and jail time. He wanted Revenge. Revenge for Steve's parents, revenge for Steve, and yes even revenge for the Governor. She may have been in league with Wo Fat but Danny did not believe she deserved death.

Danny had a lot of anger driving him right now, so he paced and his body shook until finally he stopped from the sheer exhaustion of moving constantly. He walked back to his car and collapsed into the drivers seat. He sat there a few minutes just breathing. As he calmed, he realized he needed to call Rachel. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial 2. Rachel's Phone went Immediately to Voice mail. Danny hung up and looked at his Phone like it was an alien. Why would she not be available? He redialed her number and again got Voice mail right away. Suddenly it hit him what happened. Her phone went to voice mail because she was on the plane. Rachel left. She took Grace and LEFT!

"Oh god! how could she do this to me again?" He screamed at the empty car. "She Just left."

He had told her he loved her. He told her he would go back to New Jersey with her. He was thrilled about the baby. He told her he would leave all he had here just for her. He would leave his best friend in this whole awful island maybe even in this world just to be with her. He had been so wrapped up in her that he let his best friend/partner down for her. Why couldn't she just wait for him? Just once couldn't she think about him instead of her? Why did she have to leave when he told her he loved her and he would be there to get on the plane with her and Grace? Doesn't she care to make sure everything was fine? Doesn't she love him enough to wait for him?

Then the truth hit. She never did love him enough. He never loved her enough either. She wanted him to leave the force so she wouldn't have to worry. He did not do it. Deep down Danny knew he loved Grace more than he love Rachel because as much as it hurt to loose Rachel it hurt worse to loose Grace. Yet even as fiercely as he loved Grace he could not and would not stop being a cop. He realized also that deep down he did not want to leave 5-0.

Yeah he got hurt more on the job being on 5-0, but these people were his family, his ohana. They were always there for him. They had wormed their way into his heart and made Hawaii a place that was bearable to live.

Steve more so than the others. Steve cared about him. Steve cared about Grace. Steve was his first choice if he couldn't get to Grace. Steve was the one he went to when he needed to vent or when he needed to just sit and be quiet. Steve can take all his ranting and just sit there with that big goofy grin on his face. Steve can throw it at him too if he needs to.

Danny started his car and drove off thinking about Steve. Danny thinks about Steve lying to the feds for him so he could go find Matt. He thought about how Steve stopped Rachel from taking away his visitation rights with Grace. He thought about him showing at his ex-partners funeral. He knows that no matter what crazy hair brained idea Steve comes up with to catch the bad guy; he is always aware that Danny is not purposely in harms way. He thought about how scared he was when Steve fell down that cliff. How he was so scared until that helicopter showed up and he knew he would be ok. He had even hearted Steve as he was going to the helicopter. Steve remembered that he had Grace last week when he was hit with the Saran Gas and he had made sure she was picked up and taken care of before he went off to solve the case. He remember the look Steve gave him as he asked if he was ok. He also remembered the hurt and confused look Steve had when he had opened his eyes later that night. Steve did a great job of hiding it and he had not registered it at the time but now he saw it plain as day.

Like a punch to the gut Danny suddenly said out loud, "Oh god Steve loves me!"

He slammed on the brakes and took a deep breath and looked around. Danny knew he was not in his neighborhood. No while he had been thinking of Steve he was driving to Steve's house. Of course he was driving to Steve's house because he had a shitty day. He always found what he needed to go on when he came to Steve's.

Again like another punch to the gut Danny realized "I really do love Steve. I did not know. I was caught up in Rachel after she started being nicer that I missed what was right under my nose."

Danny realized right then how very tired he was. The thought of going to his apartment actually physically hurt. So he drove the block it took to get to Steve's house. He got out of the car and walked into the living room. Evidence of Steve's investigation of the governor was Spread on the couch. Danny gathered up everything and took it to his car hiding it under the back seats. He knew he when he custom installed those fold up seats, that looked no different than factory direct seats, that they would come in handy someday. He made sure that if HPD came with a warrant tomorrow that they would not find this evidence so they could further prove their theory that Steve killed the Governor. He would get all of this to Jenna in the morning and they would start operation "Get Steve/ Kono out of jail." Once Steve was out, they would have a long talk.

But for tonight Danny curled up on Steve's sofa letting the smells of Steve's house comfort him. It was not satisfying but it would have to do for now.


End file.
